edit: What I should have done...
no blow off tube and use the "Andy Method" -- Just stand it in the bath
Mini Mash - An AG virgin's attempt...
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kt88man
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kt88man
Quick update.
Fermented to a steady FG 0.016 after 7-10 days.
There is a slight residual sweetness, not unpleasant, but certainly not what I would expect of a bitter.
Racked to secondary on 9th Feb.
Showing no signs as yet of clearing, this was taken today (14th Feb)
At the same time I placed a small sample in a measuring cylinder.
This is clearing slowly.
For the moment I will wait...
Fermented to a steady FG 0.016 after 7-10 days.
There is a slight residual sweetness, not unpleasant, but certainly not what I would expect of a bitter.
Racked to secondary on 9th Feb.
Showing no signs as yet of clearing, this was taken today (14th Feb)
At the same time I placed a small sample in a measuring cylinder.
This is clearing slowly.
For the moment I will wait...
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kt88man
Thanks DaaB - Yes it was the recipe from your Mini Mash page but with a 10% increase in the ingredients as I expected a low efficiency. In retrospect I don't think that was actually needed as you'd probably taken efficiency into account.
I expect it will clear OK as the small sample is clearing. Although I must admit, as this is my first AG, I'm rather eager to sample the product
I'll be starting a second batch soon...
I expect it will clear OK as the small sample is clearing. Although I must admit, as this is my first AG, I'm rather eager to sample the product
I'll be starting a second batch soon...
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kt88man
After 13 days in the secondary it looked pretty clear, so:
Bottled today. Hmmm, not much return on all that effort.
Still that residual sweetness, but it does taste like beer!
Once in the bottle it was obvious that it hadn't cleared as much as I thought.
At least there'll be plenty of yeast for the priming sugar...
Now it's just wait I guess...
Bottled today. Hmmm, not much return on all that effort.
Still that residual sweetness, but it does taste like beer!
Once in the bottle it was obvious that it hadn't cleared as much as I thought.
At least there'll be plenty of yeast for the priming sugar...
Now it's just wait I guess...
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kt88man
Not too worried about drinking yeast - luckily it doesn't seem to have any effect on me
I've thought a little
about this residual sweetness and the fact that the FG was 1.016...
I have a feeling that the mash temperature was not even across the pot. I made, what I now believe was a mistake, of using the oven on it's fan setting. The rear of the pot would have been taking the full heat from the fan element.
I'm starting a second batch at the weekend, but this time I'll use the oven on it's 'conventional' setting. Don't want to change more than one thing at a time as I won't know which one cured the 'problem'...
At the moment I intend to just play around with a few more mini mashes, then gear up for a full 5 gallon batch.
I've thought a little
about this residual sweetness and the fact that the FG was 1.016...I have a feeling that the mash temperature was not even across the pot. I made, what I now believe was a mistake, of using the oven on it's fan setting. The rear of the pot would have been taking the full heat from the fan element.
I'm starting a second batch at the weekend, but this time I'll use the oven on it's 'conventional' setting. Don't want to change more than one thing at a time as I won't know which one cured the 'problem'...
At the moment I intend to just play around with a few more mini mashes, then gear up for a full 5 gallon batch.
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SteveD
Don't leave those clear glass bottles where the sunlight can get at them. Not good. They say UV light degrades hop constituents and is said to cause an odd taste in beer known as skunking. Apparently we are all so used to the taste from all the beer we drink from clear and green glass that we think it's normal. I don't know what the actual taste of skunked beer is. Light affects hops before they go into beer as well, and they also oxidise easily. Best way to store them is an unopened vacuum foil pack in the freezer, or tightly resealed if opened. I wrap the opened pack tightly in clingfilm.
Skunking and oxidation is debated fairly vigorously and my take on it is that professional brewers take enormous care with the storage and treatment of hops and the resulting beer to avoid degradation. Professionals wouldn't go to all that trouble for nothing - they don't do anything without good reason.
If you intend to bottle the best thing is a proper brown glass beer bottle with conical shoulders. Brown glass stops the UV light. They pour better than round shouldered bottles, disturbing the sediment less. Homebrew shops have them and they're cheap. Ideal for minimashes. Not ideal if you step up to 5 gallons! Get a barrel.
Skunking and oxidation is debated fairly vigorously and my take on it is that professional brewers take enormous care with the storage and treatment of hops and the resulting beer to avoid degradation. Professionals wouldn't go to all that trouble for nothing - they don't do anything without good reason.
If you intend to bottle the best thing is a proper brown glass beer bottle with conical shoulders. Brown glass stops the UV light. They pour better than round shouldered bottles, disturbing the sediment less. Homebrew shops have them and they're cheap. Ideal for minimashes. Not ideal if you step up to 5 gallons! Get a barrel.
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Scooby
I think you will find that the fans distribute the heat by sucking the air from the oven and circulating the air via ventskt88man wrote:Not too worried about drinking yeast - luckily it doesn't seem to have any effect on me
I've thought a little
I have a feeling that the mash temperature was not even across the pot. I made, what I now believe was a mistake, of using the oven on it's fan setting. The rear of the pot would have been taking the full heat from the fan element.
I'm starting a second batch at the weekend, but this time I'll use the oven on it's 'conventional' setting. Don't want to change more than one thing at a time as I won't know which one cured the 'problem'...
At the moment I intend to just play around with a few more mini mashes, then gear up for a full 5 gallon batch.
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kt88man
Cheers Steve.
I'm aware of the lightstruck/skunking issue. Bottles are in a cardboard box in the spare room at the moment, then after a few days they go in the cellar, aka cupboard under the stairs.
Been keeping the hops in the fridge in a reseal poly bag. So I'll break out the clingfilm and get them in the freezer.
I bottle 40 pint kits in 1litre pet bottles - pita. I was pretty sure I'd end up taking the corni road, but the idea of a beer engine drawing from a polypin is another option I'm now considering.
I'm aware of the lightstruck/skunking issue. Bottles are in a cardboard box in the spare room at the moment, then after a few days they go in the cellar, aka cupboard under the stairs.
Been keeping the hops in the fridge in a reseal poly bag. So I'll break out the clingfilm and get them in the freezer.
I bottle 40 pint kits in 1litre pet bottles - pita. I was pretty sure I'd end up taking the corni road, but the idea of a beer engine drawing from a polypin is another option I'm now considering.
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SteveD
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kt88man
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SteveD
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kt88man
OG (1.054) was greater than expected. Don't know about the starch, use iodine to test for that don't you? I'll worry about that sort of thing laterSteveD wrote:If you hit target gravity, and had no starch present in the wort then you didn't have a problem.
So what's your take on the residual sweetness and the (I thought) high FG of 1.016 Mash at a lower temp or change the recipe, both as DaaB suggested. Or did I have a stuck fermentation without realising it...
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SteveD
Daab's best positioned to answer that...it's his recipe. Could be any number of things. Short mash time, high mash temperature, incorrect PH, insufficient aeration of the wort before pitching, not enough yeast (unlikely with 1 gallon). Or, 'one of those days' Yeast is tempremental stuff.kt88man wrote:OG (1.054) was greater than expected. Don't know about the starch, use iodine to test for that don't you? I'll worry about that sort of thing laterSteveD wrote:If you hit target gravity, and had no starch present in the wort then you didn't have a problem.
So what's your take on the residual sweetness and the (I thought) high FG of 1.016 Mash at a lower temp or change the recipe, both as DaaB suggested. Or did I have a stuck fermentation without realising it...
Starch test is simple. Get some iodine indicator solution from the Homebrew shop. After your mash time is up, very lightly stir the top and drip a few drops or so of wort onto a white saucer, then add a drop of the indicator solution. If it goes blue-black, you have starch present. If it doesn't, you don't.
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kt88man
Steve, DaaB, - OK Thanks.
Whole 11g packet used. Temp varied slightly between 19-20C. I was unsure of what the FG would be but was expecting in the region of 1.012-1.014, so when it ended on 1.016 I accepted it.
Anyway it's going to get squirreled away and I see what it's like in a few weeks.
Decided to start the next batch without making any changes, see what that comes out like. If that also ends around the 1.016 mark I'll try gently rousing the yeast...
One thing I must say, even with the slight sweetness and still so young, it did taste rather good
Whole 11g packet used. Temp varied slightly between 19-20C. I was unsure of what the FG would be but was expecting in the region of 1.012-1.014, so when it ended on 1.016 I accepted it.
Anyway it's going to get squirreled away and I see what it's like in a few weeks.
Decided to start the next batch without making any changes, see what that comes out like. If that also ends around the 1.016 mark I'll try gently rousing the yeast...
One thing I must say, even with the slight sweetness and still so young, it did taste rather good